Veterans Foundation
We are delighted to announce that the Veterans Foundation have provided some welcome funding for us to continue to help veterans who are experiencing chronic pain. The Veterans' Foundation has been set up to help fund charities and other charitable organisations that are helping serving and former members of the Armed Forces, and their dependants, who are in need and we very much appreciate their support in enabling us to provide this essential service.
The Veterans project was established to help Veterans living with chronic pain and other limiting conditions. The simple idea was to develop a specialist service just for veterans because feedback, requests for help and experience in the field had identified that veterans often struggled to access or benefit from work delivered in the wider civilian community.
The trouble with chronic conditions is that they often involve a long and harrowing journey through the medical system which ultimately ends in disappointment. Ultimately people reach the limits of clinical help and are left facing the stark reality of having to deal with an intractable condition on their own. This often leads to a difficult mix of: bewilderment, frustration, anger, low mood, stress, anxiety and an overwhelming sense of being abandoned and isolated. For many veterans these condition related problems can exacerbate pre-existing distress caused by adjustment issues, stress, trauma and difficult family life.
Feedback and experience of working with veterans before the project started informed us that these experiences were likely to be felt especially acutely by veterans who were already struggling to adjust to life outside of the structure and certainty of serving in the armed forces. The project was therefore developed to help a particular group of people who are often isolated for a variety of reasons, may be struggling to cope with life generally and feel isolated from the help that they need. Many may also be struggling with issues related to trauma that mean they find it hard to socialise.
COVID-19 has added challenges for everyone and we have realised that people are suffering more from the background of anxiety and fear and the curtailment of their usual socialising. Since our support is mainly by phone, we have been able to offer continued help, re-assurance and additional resources in a difficult time. The group work at Erskine House has evolved significantly. Initially we felt that people would benefit from a group in which they could be mutually supportive. But feedback from staff at Erskine combined with the way people used the service has led us to change the set up so that people can have one to one sessions rather than group work. This has worked well because people said that they were embarrassed to share their issues in a group. It also works better because people come with specific issues or personal situations that they want to discuss.
Sadly COVID-19 has meant that Erskine House is currently closed but we plan to resume visits when guidance changes. However, during the pandemic we have still been offering people of Erskine the opportunity to take part in one-to-one sessions over the phone or Zoom and also email support which has been beneficial.
More information on the Veterans Foundation and the work they do can be found on their website : www.veteransfoundation.org.uk